Afternoon Summary

Thanks for following the blog today and all your comments. I’ll be back tomorrow. In the meantime here’s a summary of the afternoon’s main developments:

Jeremy Corbyn has said the UK government should support Shamima Begum’s return to Britain. Speaking in Brussels, the Labour leader described stripping the teenager who fled to Syria of her citizenship as a “very extreme manoeuvre”.

Corbyn called the danger of Britain leaving the EU without a deal “very serious”. He said people in the EU were very worried about such a prospect.

The EU’s chief negotiator has questioned the usefulness of an extension to Article 50. After meeting Corbyn, Michel Barnier said: “We don’t need more time, we need decisions from the British parliament.”

The UK will not be able to roll over the European Union’s trade deal with Japan in time for the scheduled date of Brexit on 29 March, the International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, has confirmed. Japan was the most significant on a list of 27 EU trade agreements on which discussions about possible roll-over are ongoing released by the Department of International Trade today.

Theresa May has rejected criticism of the Conservative party by the three MPs who quit yesterday. In a written response to Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen and Sarah Wollaston, the prime minister said the party was “moderate” and “open-hearted”.

I know you will not have come to your decision lightly, but I must say that I do not accept the picture you paint of our party. Indeed, in each of the areas you highlight, our record in government shows that we are the moderate, open-hearted Conservative Party in the One Nation tradition you speak of.

In my time in government and politics I have seen the consequences of people in power not giving a voice to those without one, or ignoring people when they speak. I believe we must not make that mistake by failing to deliver on the result of the referendum. I know that you disagree with equal passion and conviction and, like me, are motivated by what you consider to be right for the country.

The UK’s membership of the European Union has been a source of disagreement both in our party and our country for a long time. Ending that membership after four decades was never going to be easy. I have sought to bring people back together.

Like you, I was one of the 48% of people who voted to remain in the EU – but I believe very firmly that it is the duty of all of us in parliament, particularly those of us who voted to hold the referendum and promised to abide by its result, to deliver what the majority of people voted for. That is what the deal the government has negotiated will do – delivering on the result of the referendum while maintaining a close economic and security relationship with our European neighbours.

She concludes:

I was sorry to read, and do not accept, the parallel you draw with the way Jeremy Corbyn and the hard left have warped a once proud Labour Party and allowed the poison of antisemitism to go unchecked.

I am determined that under my leadership the Conservative Party will always offer the decent, moderate and patriotic politics that the people of this country deserve. I hope we can continue to work together on issues where we agree.

The European Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, said he had “open and constructive” talks with Jeremy Corbyn with a “consensus that [a] reckless no-deal should be off the table”. Verhofstadt restated the European Parliament’s plea for a “broad majority” to be found for a deal at Westminster through a cross-party approach. He said MEPs were open to an “upgraded” political declaration as a way forward.

In other news, the UK will not be able to roll over the European Union’s trade deal with Japan in time for the scheduled date of Brexit on 29 March, the International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, has confirmed.

Japan was the most significant on a list of 27 EU trade agreements on which discussions about possible roll-over are ongoing released by the Department of International Trade (DIT).

It also noted the EU’s customs union agreement with Turkey, which covers 1.39% of UK trade, will not be transitioned on exit day.

The UK has so far been able to finalise “continuity agreements” with seven of the 69 countries and regions with which the EU has trade deals - Switzerland, Chile, the Faroe Islands, eastern and southern Africa, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Fox said in a statement that mutual recognition agreements signed with the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand should ensure that businesses do not face additional bureaucracy after Brexit.

The DIT said:

While a number of these continuity agreements are likely to be concluded by exit day, it is the duty of government to produce a highly-cautious list of those that may not be in place in order that businesses and individuals ensure that they are prepared for every eventuality.

It remains our priority to conclude trade continuity agreements with these countries by exit day or as soon as possible thereafter.

The Liberal Democrat leader, Vince Cable, said the news about the Japan trade deal underlined the dangers of a no-deal break. He said:

One of the great myths of Brexit was that we could instantly sign new trade deals whilst seamlessly rolling over the existing deals we already have with over 70 countries as a member of the EU.

This is damaging myth which has proven to be false. Should no-deal materialise, this will cause serious problems for our economy.

Brexiters promised that voting leave would mean a bonanza of new international trade deals that would make up for lost trade with the EU.

Instead, Brexit is costing us the global trade deals we already have as EU members. Liam Fox is now finally admitting that his promise to roll over all existing EU trade deals in time for Brexit is going to be broken.

Euro MPs are confirming that the mood in Brussels is anything but positive with some choice words today.

The prominent Greek MEP, Stelios Koulouglou, told the Guardian:

Everyone in the [EU] negotiating team is completely fed up with May. They feel she doesn’t have a clear plan, she changes constantly and instead of being serious, is playing cheap political games.

Koulouglou, who represents Greece’s governing leftist Syriza party, said the British prime minister’s negotiating team now had “a very, very bad reputation” at what was seen as a particularly sensitive juncture in talks.

The response when the chief EU negotiator, Michel Barnier, was asked about the prospect of an extension to Article 50, sounds somewhat exasperated:

We don’t need more time, we need decisions from the British parliament. If this question was raised, the first reaction of the heads of state - whose unanimous approval is required - would be to say: ‘What for? How much time?’

He suggested that Brussels would be ready to make changes to the political declaration on the future UK/EU relationship if London wanted to make it “more ambitious”, for instance by proposing a permanent customs union.

There was “no doubt” that the EU27 would maintain their solidarity with the Republic of Ireland on the border issue, said Barnier.